And so, Tan Xingwei once again experienced a roller coaster of emotions with Su Xu.
But because the outcome was good, and because she could continue spending time with Su Xu, she was so happy she forgot what stupid things she had just said.
Su Xu’s suggestion was to go to her place for a while first. After she finished the work she had on hand, she would then take Tan Xingwei home.
Tan Xingwei, of course, readily agreed. She eagerly followed Su Xu to find the car, eagerly got in, and happily fastened her seatbelt.
Su Xu’s home and Tan Xingwei’s company were in the same district, called Bayi, but Tan Xingwei’s company was in a more remote location.
The first time Tan Xingwei became familiar with Bayi District was after her high school graduation, and the second time was after her university graduation.
She still remembered how she felt when she received the interview address with “Bayi District” written on it. At that time, she was still at the distant A University. Lying on her dorm bed, she zoomed in on the two characters for “Bayi” in the address, her mind in a daze for a long while. Later, when she came here and saw the familiar streets, she was in a daze again for a while.
This moment was just like four years ago. Four years ago, Su Xu had also driven her father’s car like this, taking Tan Xingwei out to eat, and then back to her home.
Tan Xingwei even remembered the route; she had to turn right at the next intersection.
The sudden ringing of her phone interrupted Tan Xingwei’s thoughts. She came back to her senses and picked up her phone, seeing the three large characters for “Tan Yinqing” on the screen.
It was another call from her. Tan Yinqing was confirmed to be very free tonight.
Tan Xingwei answered with a “Hello” and heard a very strange laugh from the other end.
Tan Xingwei understood at once. This person had received the taro paste cake she had bought.
“How could I accept this, my dear little sister.” As expected, Tan Yinqing’s next sentence, delivered in a feigned voice, made Tan Xingwei facepalm and laugh in exasperation.
To let Su Xu see this Tan’s true colors, Tan Xingwei turned on the speakerphone and tossed out an: “Ah?”
Tan Yinqing did not disappoint. Her next sentence was: “How can my little sister be so good? Big sister is so touched~”
After hearing this, Su Xu frowned with a look of confusion.
Tan Xingwei was very satisfied.
Tan Xingwei replied: “You big glutton.”
Having accepted the gift, Tan Yinqing was at her mercy: “That’s me, that’s me.”
Tan Xingwei gave Su Xu a “see what she’s like” look, and Su Xu smiled.
“Are you coming back tonight?” After a few more sentences, Tan Yinqing’s tone became serious.
Tan Xingwei: “I am.”
Tan Yinqing: “What are you doing? I sent you a WeChat message and you didn’t reply.”
This was the second sentence tonight that was a bit funny. Tan Xingwei didn’t mind moving the phone a little closer to Su Xu.
“Guess,” Tan Xingwei said into the phone, looking at Su Xu’s side profile.
Tan Yinqing was very blunt on the other end: “How would I know? Reply if you want, don’t if you don’t.”
Tan Xingwei: “Oh, give me back the cake then.”
Tan Yinqing instantly changed her tune: “Thank you, little sister. Come back early, okay? I’ll wait for you.”
As her voice fell, a laugh that Su Xu perhaps couldn’t hold back was heard.
Tan Xingwei pressed her lips together and looked down at her phone.
But then she heard the voice on the phone say: “Are you with a friend?”
Tan Xingwei: “Ah.”
Tan Yinqing: “What’s there to guess about being with a friend? You’re crazy.”
Being scolded, Tan Xingwei was instead quite pleased: “I’m hanging up then, bye-bye.”
The car became quiet again. Su Xu turned her head for a look, seemingly confirming that Tan Xingwei had hung up the phone before asking, “What game are you two playing?”
Tan Xingwei leaned back, completely relaxed. “Don’t you have one?”
Su Xu: “You’ve learned some bad habits.”
Tan Xingwei: “I learned them from you.”
Su Xu’s home was in the center of Bayi District’s commercial area. It had been a long time since she’d been here, and the streets had changed slightly, looking a bit more prosperous.
Su Xu parked the car in the underground garage. The two of them entered the elevator together, and Su Xu pressed the button for the sixth floor.
As the numbers climbed, Tan Xingwei’s heart actually started to beat a little faster.
She had never thought she would come to this place again. Back when Su Xu went abroad, after Tan Xingwei finally stopped being sad that Su Xu hadn’t come to see her that night, all that was left of Su Xu were beautiful memories.
She thought about it. The “bye-bye” she said to Su Xu at the farewell party, the movie she watched with Su Xu at the cinema, the hotpot they ate, the last time she left Su Xu’s house and helped her close the door, and so on—in her life’s diary, these were all her “lasts” with Su Xu.
She thought, perhaps she would never see Su Xu again, that she would hide Su Xu in her heart forever.
Interesting, isn’t it? Hey, here she was again.
The hallway after getting out of the elevator hadn’t changed much compared to before. Time seemed to overlap, and Tan Xingwei was still following behind Su Xu.
Tan Xingwei felt that all the sad words she had written because of Su Xu over the past few years could now be torn up.
“I might be a little while,” Su Xu said to Tan Xingwei as they entered the house and she bent down to open the shoe cabinet. “You can watch TV or,” she seemed to suddenly think of something, “play games. I can find the game console for you.”
Tan Xingwei closed the door. “No need, watching TV is fine.”
Su Xu hummed in agreement, closed the shoe cabinet, and placed the pair of slippers Tan Xingwei used to wear on the floor. “Orange juice?”
Tan Xingwei let out a disgusted: “Ah~”
Su Xu: “I squeezed it myself.”
Tan Xingwei’s expression immediately changed: “Okay!”
Su Xu laughed in exasperation. “Miss Tan.”
Tan Xingwei: “Store-bought orange juice is so gross.”
Su Xu: “Yes, yes, yes.”
Tan Xingwei was curious: “You know how to squeeze orange juice?”
Su Xu sighed. “I didn’t used to.”
Tan Xingwei hadn’t thought much of it at first, but it was obvious Su Xu’s words had a hidden meaning, so Tan Xingwei started to think.
In the end, Tan Xingwei couldn’t fight her own curiosity. The need to know and get a straight answer was greater than anything else. She pressed her lips together and asked in one breath: “Who did you squeeze it for?”
Su Xu’s steps suddenly halted, and Tan Xingwei almost bumped into her.
Su Xu turned her head. “What are you thinking?”
Tan Xingwei: “Huh?”
Su Xu continued walking. “I only learned after I came back. The juicer just arrived the day before yesterday, and the oranges are fresh from this morning, Miss Tan.”
Excuse me, what was the difference between the “Miss Tan” from the previous context and the “Miss Tan” in this one?
Tan Xingwei was so satisfied her mouth was about to twist into a crooked smile, but she had to say: “I want watermelon juice next time.”
Su Xu said “Okay,” and then added, “Miss Tan seems to have some assumptions about me.”
Tan Xingwei didn’t understand at first. “What?”
Su Xu opened the refrigerator. “Are you in a relationship?”
Tan Xingwei was even more confused, but she understood the question. “Me?”
Su Xu reached for the oranges and took half a step forward. The refrigerator door blocked Tan Xingwei’s view of her; she could only hear her soft “Mm.”
Tan Xingwei: “No, I’m not.”
Su Xu took out the bag of oranges, closed the refrigerator door, and headed to the kitchen.
Tan Xingwei continued to follow, thinking that since Su Xu had asked, she would ask too.
“What about you?” Tan Xingwei asked, looking at the back of Su Xu’s head. “Are you in a relationship?”
The kitchen light had already been turned on. They walked from the warm-lit area to the bright white space, and it was then that Tan Xingwei seemed to see Su Xu’s cheeks puff out slightly.
It was a sign of a smile.
“No,” Su Xu said.
Standing behind Su Xu, Tan Xingwei screamed a big “Yes!” in her heart.
Not in a relationship, that’s great, really great, wonderful!
“What were you saying just now?” Tan Xingwei felt like she’d been led in a circle, so she brought the conversation back herself. “What assumptions did I have about you?”
Su Xu turned on the faucet. “I was afraid you’d think I had a partner.”
Tan Xingwei smiled with her hands behind her back. “Now I know you don’t.”
Su Xu asked again, “What would happen if I did have a partner?”
Tan Xingwei’s throat seemed to catch, but she forced a smile. “Nothing would happen,” she felt she should say something nice, but couldn’t get a single word out. In the end, she could only say, “If you have one, you have one.”
Su Xu’s juicing technique was clearly a bit rusty. During the process, she even secretly glanced at the instruction manual stuck on top. But the result was good; the squeezed orange juice was very fragrant and sweet, super delicious.
This reminded Tan Xingwei of the first time she came to Su Xu’s house.
Back then, she had a “do it as soon as you think of it” attitude towards Su Xu. They had only met two or three times, but just because she learned the name of Su Xu’s residential complex from Tan Yinqing in the morning, she was at the complex gate that afternoon after lunch.
Clinging to a slim hope, she actually managed to run into Su Xu.
But she lied to Su Xu, saying she had plans to hang out with a classmate but got stood up.
Looking pitiful, Su Xu took her home.
It was a hot summer, and she had been outside for a long time, sweating on her forehead and neck. The first thing Su Xu asked when they entered was, “There’s orange juice and ice water in the fridge, what do you want?”
At that time, she and Su Xu weren’t very close, but when Su Xu asked this, she was still able to say, “I don’t drink bottled orange juice.”
In fact, Tan Xingwei regretted it as soon as she said it. This wasn’t her home, Su Xu wasn’t her mom. Who was she putting on this picky act for?
But after hearing her words, Su Xu didn’t show any particular expression. She just said very naturally, “There’s a fresh juice place downstairs, I’ll go buy some.” She then asked, “Do you want orange juice? Or something else?”
Tan Xingwei said, “Orange juice.”
Su Xu: “Okay, wait for me at home.” Before closing the door, she added, “Don’t stand right in front of the air conditioner.”
Tan Xingwei wondered if it was because of this that she later developed the bad habit of doing whatever she wanted in front of Su Xu.
With a Su Xu like this, how could Tan Xingwei ever move on?
The oranges Su Xu took out were just enough to make two glasses of juice. One was placed on the coffee table, the other on the work desk at the side of the living room.
Tan Xingwei unceremoniously launched herself onto the sofa. Su Xu stood to the side and helped her turn on the TV. “TV series, movie, or variety show?”
Tan Xingwei did some quick calculations in her head. “Movie.”
Su Xu clicked into the movie section. “What do you want to watch?”
Tan Xingwei looked at the big screen. It seemed to be a movie list that Su Xu had organized herself; it was very comprehensive.
The first page passed, and there was nothing she wanted to watch yet. Tan Xingwei said, “Keep scrolling.”
So Su Xu scrolled down. As she was scrolling, a familiar image suddenly flashed across the screen.
But because it was in Korean, Tan Xingwei couldn’t understand it, and Su Xu scrolled down again, so the movie poster quickly disappeared.
In the end, Tan Xingwei chose a Disney animated movie that she had always said she wanted to find a chance to watch.
Su Xu helped her click play, placed the remote on the coffee table, and left.
The main living room light was turned off, leaving two faint ambient lights on the periphery. Su Xu sat down at her workstation and turned on her computer.
Everything became quiet. Tan Xingwei grabbed a throw pillow, curled her legs up, and leaned against the sofa.
Just as the movie’s opening sequence began, Tan Xingwei remembered what that familiar movie poster was.
It was a very famous yuri film.
